ST. LOUIS, MO — McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to announce the completion of the Midwestern Laboratory in St. Louis, Missouri.
The 84,000-square-foot, single-story facility was designed by Hoefer Welker. It was developed in close collaboration with the agency to ensure operational efficiencies, sustainable practices, and the integration of the most advanced scientific technologies to address both current and future food safety challenges.
Located in the northwest region of the St. Louis metro area and near the University of Missouri - St. Louis campus, the facility includes microbiology and chemistry labs, processing center, large receiving area, and adjacent sample prep laboratory, as well as administrative offices. The new lab will coordinate and conduct laboratory services in support of the agency’s farm-to-table strategies for food safety in meat, poultry, fish, and egg products.
It will be home to approximately 60 employees across three branches:
- Administration: Overseeing testing, quality control, procurement, and safety.
- Chemistry: Conducting analyses for veterinary drugs and environmental contaminants.
- Microbiology: Performing testing for foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella, the top seven E. coli STEC strains, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter species, and sanitary indicators. The lab will also conduct whole genome DNA sequencing on positive isolates.
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“Delivering a facility that enables FSIS to fulfill its vital public health mission is a point of pride for our experienced science and technology team,” said Josh Gaghen, McCarthy Vice President and St. Louis Business Unit Leader. “This laboratory reflects not only the importance of food safety in our daily lives but also what’s possible when experts in construction, design, and science collaborate with a shared purpose.”
In alignment with the General Services Administration’s (GSA) mission to procure space for federal agencies, GSA executed a 20-year lease with U.S. Federal Properties for a total contract value of $115.54 million. Construction began in May 2023 and concluded on schedule.
